Growing a Painting Trivia Quiz

Answer: Water lilies

The magic of water lilies is well known to us from Monet's paintings. They come in shades of white, pink, red, apricot and yellow and add beauty and colour to any body of water from a lake to a small water feature. They range from petite, miniature varieties, through to those with large flowers. Most do well in water about 30 to 60 centimetres deep. Miniature varieties can thrive even in more shallow conditions.

(Question by Calpurnia09)

Answer: The seed of the flax plant

The origin of using oil based paints is not entirely understood, however by the early Renaissance period oil painting was very popular. The colour is produced by mixing various pigments or chemicals with the oil. Unfortunately, in the early days, the pigments used were often toxic such as arsenic compounds, lead and cadmium.

(Question by Dutty4eva)

Answer: Central America

Sunflowers are first recorded in Mexico around 2600BC. They then appear in Tennessee some 300 years later and were probably introduced to the Mississippi Valley area around the same time, along with maize. When the flowers are in bud the heads follow the sun from East to West, but when they are in full bloom they lose this ability and become fixed, usually facing East. They will grow in any fertile soil that receives full sun and have been known to attain heights of up to twelve feet. Their seeds are a favourite bird food.

(Question by Christinap)

Answer: Paul Cézanne

Most of Paul Cézanne's paintings are still lifes. These were done in the studio with simple props: a cloth, some fruit, a vase or bowl and, later in his career, plaster sculptures. Cézanne's still lifes are both traditional and modern. The fruits and objects are readily identifiable, they are still commonplace today.

(Question by em1958)

Answer: Guernica

The attack on the Republican stronghold village of Guernica on April 26 1937, by warplanes from the German Condor Legion, was led by Colonel Wolfram von Richthofen, a distant cousin of the World War I flying ace, Manfred von Richthofen (the famed 'Red Baron'). Picasso had been working for two months on a mural commissioned by the Spanish Republican Government for that year's World's Fair in Paris, but abandoned it on learning about Guernica and began a new mural on May 1st, finishing it six weeks later. The 25' x 11' black-and-white mural in oil on canvas captures not just the horror of the event in Guernica itself, but is a timeless and universal statement about human suffering and misery in war.

(Question by dsimpy)

Answer: Cheerfulness

The Victorians were very keen on the language of flowers and assigned a meaning to almost every bloom. Chrysanthemums in general mean cheerfulness or good friendship. Red chrysanthemums on their own stand for love, white ones for truth, and yellow for slighted love. Other Countries have their own interpretations, for example in China they mean Taoist perfection and simplicity, in Japan they are the Imperial emblem and in parts of Europe they are used almost exclusively in memorials on graves.

(Question by StarStruck60)

Answer: Girl with a Pearl Earring

The 'Girl with a Pearl Earring' by Johannes Vermeer is almost as well known as the 'Mona Lisa'. It was lost to the public for 200 years and but appeared at an auction in The Hague in 1881 when it was bought by A.A. des Tombe. In Tracy Chevalier's eponymous novel the sitter is held to be a servant in Vermeer's household. In fact nothing is known of the sitter although it has been suggested that she was Vermeer's eldest daughter, Maria. She would have been sixteen or seventeen years old in 1665-1667, the date that scholars have assigned to the painting.

(Question by Calpurnia09)

Answer: M C Escher

Maurits Cornelis Escher (1898 - 1972) was born in The Netherlands. His work was largely mathematical despite having no formal training in this area. He was fascinated with impossible objects, which led to the creation of 'Relativity' in 1953.
This painting was used in 'The Matrix', one of the 'Nightmare on Elm Street' films, and most memorably (for me) in the classic movie 'Labyrinth'.
It has also been used in cartoons such as 'Sonic the Hedgehog', 'Family Guy' and 'The Simpsons'.
There is a room based on this painting in the Haunted Mansion at Walt Disney World.

(Question by Cally 242)

Answer: Paul McCartney

The 'Paul McCartney Rose' or 'Sweet Lady' was introduced around 1995.
It is a large flowered Hybrid Tea rose with medium pink petals. Although an ordinary looking rose, its distinguishing feature is its exceptionally strong fragrance. Since its original cultivation it has won several awards.



(Question by Cally 242)

Answer: Melancolia l

Albrecht Dürer (1471 - 1528) was born in Nuremburg and is renowned for being the greatest artist of the Northern Renaissance. 'Melancolia l' was engraved in 1514 and played a large role in Dan Brown's 'The Lost Symbol'. Its portrayal of a 'Magic Square' was a key point and clue in this novel. A magic square is a grid of numbers in which all the totals (horizontal, vertical and diagonal) add up to the same number, for example:

2 7 6
9 5 1
4 3 8

All rows add up to 15!

(Question by Cally242)